Surprisingly, the Quorum meeting goes much better than anticipated. Truth be told, she'd expected a vote of no confidence at the very least and there are actually a few members who briefly try to put the vote on the table but they're outnumbered and their motion is quickly shot down. When she tells the Quorum what they found on the surface, they are as shocked as anyone upon hearing their worst nightmare confirmed, but apparently they've decided that another change of leadership at this juncture would not be in anyone's best interest.
During the discussion, Laura briefly glances at Lee, sends him a look of gratitude. She's very aware of the fact that were it not for him graciously ceding the Presidency back to her upon her return from the Base ship, his subsequent public display of support, things might have gone very differently. Zarek too, makes it clear he'll back her, and though she doesn't quite trust him, even after all this time, his endorsement along with Lee's approval have done her standing with the Quorum a world of good.
The fact that the Admiral stands squarely behind her, figuratively as well as literally, his position at her back a reminder of where his loyalties lie, doesn't hurt either.
When she outlines the plans for a planet wide survey and her intent to hold a subsequent debate regarding the question of settlement, the Quorum agrees with her. They also jointly decide on a no flight measure that bars anyone from flying down to Earth, unless expressly authorized by either the Admiral, or the President. Then talk turns to fleet security, increased watchfulness, additional safety protocols, and though they are serious matters, a tiny part of her brain keeps going back to the time she shared with Bill in their quarters.
So long in coming, it had been everything she'd hoped for, everything she'd dreamed. The sex had been good, but more than that, their joining had been an affirmation of love, of life in the face of death, of trust and support, freely given; a small private heaven, a time-out amidst the pain and disappointment of Earth, a refuge from the knowledge that soon it would all be on their heads once again.
"Madam President, you will keep up appraised of any new developments?" The Sagittaron representative, Jacob Cantrell asks, rousing her from her thoughts.
"Naturally, Jacob," she replies. "In fact, I intend to hold bi-daily briefings. Mr. Adama here will be my spokesperson; he'll fill you in on any new developments." Even though she's just thought of it, Lee nods as if they'd long since agreed upon holding these briefings, and she feels another surge of gratitude.
Finally, the meeting ends and as the Quorum files out, Bill and Lee stay behind while she gathers her notes. She turns around and finds both men standing at attention, it looks incongruous on Lee with his sharp suit and tie and his unmilitary haircut. For a long moment they all stand and stare at each other, then Laura walks towards Bill, slips her hand in his and turns to Lee. She doesn't quite know what to say, their truce is still so new, it's awkward.
At last it's Lee who breaks the silence. "That went well."
"Surprisingly," she says.
"Yeah." He nods and fiddles with his tie, runs his hand through his hair. "Do you believe we'll find something down there?"
"Truthfully? No," she says. A quick look in his direction tells her Bill feels the same, though despite his misgivings the light in his eyes still shines brightly. The knowledge that it is the news of her reprieve that put that shine there only makes it more poignant. It's an empty promise, she feels it in her bones, this hope that Cottle gave them, but she's determined to do everything within her power to keep the light burning within him for as long as possible.
"Then why the scouting mission?"
"Because I've been known to be wrong, upon occasion."
Lee laughs and it transforms his face, erases the worried frown that has been etched across his brow since Baltar's trial, and for a moment she thinks she sees a glimpse of her Captain Apollo. She threads her arm through his, rests her casted hand in the crook of his elbow. Bill's hand settles in its customary place on the small of her back and together they step out into the corridor. It's bustling with activity, military personnel, government officials and their entourage of aides and advisors, concerned citizens, all clogging the halls, trying to accost them, trying to learn what is going on. Her security detail pushes through the crowd, clears a path and Laura is grateful for their steadfast presence by her side, their unwavering devotion. Unlike nearly everyone else they've encountered this day, they don't ask questions, don't judge, they just quietly and efficiently go about the business of protecting her.
As her small retinue nears the Pilot Ready Room, which has been set up as a makeshift press room, the crowds gradually thin out and they find Kara, pacing the hallway just outside the hatch.
"Sir," she salutes them.
Bill returns the salute, his features tightening at her obvious distress. "What's the sitrep?" he asks.
The young woman looks frazzled. Laura feels a knot form at the pit of her stomach. "We've laid down a planet wide grid," Kara tells them. "We have a full contingent of Raptors in the air and they're combing it. So far, bingo luck. No signs of life, radio activity's off the charts mostly, much worse than where we set down even. We haven't found anything that remotely looks like a viable place to maybe set down."
Laura hangs her head in defeat for a moment, however much she'd figured they would not find anything down there, to have it confirmed is still a blow. Hope springs eternal and dies last, she thinks as the knot inside her tightens.
"There's nothing?" she breathes, as much to herself as to her companions.
Bill increases the pressure of his touch, rubs comfort into her skin of her back even through the material of her jacket and blouse, Lee squeezes her arm, steps closer. Kara looks at them both, father and son, her expression softening, before her gaze returns to Laura. "Nothing to get your hopes up about yet," she says, "but we have found something. The original landing party is still down on the surface, exploring the area, trying to find clues as to what happened. They've found the ruins of what appear to have been government buildings, a commercial district, a cultural temple of some sort and a relatively intact looking underground shelter."
At that, hope rekindles. "And have you found anything of use in there?"
Kara offers a tiny smile. "Yeah, mostly it's stocked with rations gone bad, but there are books too and data discs and even a few computers which we're hoping might still work."
"Good," Bill says. "Have them continue to search, but I want some of our people back up here. Gaeta, to sift through the data on the computers and disks, Helo, Dualla, Saul." He nearly chokes on the last name but visibly shrugs it off and continues. "We're too vulnerable with half the senior staff down there."
"What about the Cylons?" Laura asks. The mention of Saul triggering another concern. She's glad Bill seems to have come to a measure of acceptance regarding his best friend's earlier revelations. She herself is still struggling with the fact that Tory turned out to be a Cylon, even more so with the fact that she so readily turned her back on the fleet and sided with the Cylon rebels. She knows her own recent treatment of the young woman didn't help in that regard and hopes that she'll find the time to mend fences with her former aide. More importantly, she realizes, deep down inside where dreams and intuition turn to knowledge, that they need to keep their fragile alliance with the Rebel Cylons alive.
"What do you mean?" Bill raises a questioning eyebrow and she turns towards him.
"We should coordinate our efforts; show them we mean to work together."
"Make this truce stick." Lee nods his head vigorously.
Laura glances at Kara. "Are they helping or hindering?"
"Helping, for the most part," Kara says with an uneasy flicker in her eye. "Except D'Anna, she's off by herself down by the waterline, a squad of Cylons guarding her back."
"We need to talk to them," she tells Kara. She's still not a hundred percent sure the young woman is who she says she is, but after the revelation of the identities of four of the five final Cylons, she's also not sure she cares one way or the other, she's just glad to have her family back. "Will you arrange it?" she asks and Starbuck nods her acceptance.
As she turns and Lee lets go of her arm to spin open the hatch leading to the Ready Room, Laura feels Kara's hand on her arm and glances back at the young woman. Kara looks unsure of herself, opens her mouth to say something and then closes it again, she looks uncharacteristically hesitant, scared even.
"What?" Laura prompts.
"Madam President, I …" Kara falters but then seems to find some unknown reserve of courage and rushes on, "I'm sorry, so sorry. Sorry I pointed a gun at you, doubted you. Sorry I led us here; if I hadn't come back, my Viper… we never would have…"
She looks desperate and lost and so very, very young. Laura wonders if she herself was ever that young.
Laura puts her hand on Kara's and squeezes it. "There's no need," she says. "You didn't know, none of us knew. I certainly didn't. But you know what?" She leans towards her, whispers in Kara's ear. "I have a feeling we're right where we're supposed to be."
Kara draws back in surprise, a look of wonder and rising excitement on her face. "How? Why?"
"I'm not sure yet, but I will be."
Kara looks at her for a long moment, her head cocked sideways, her hands on her hips, then, she grins and salutes her. "I don't doubt it," she says and Laura is pleased to see the edges of her grin are laced with some of that old Starbuck cockiness as she adds, "If anyone can bring in the cat on this one, it's you, the two of you." She includes Bill with a grin and a raised eyebrow and Bill nods solemnly.
"Boom, boom, boom," he says.
"Boom, boom, boom," Laura echoes, and squeezes Kara's hand once more before releasing her. She watches the young woman stalk down the corridor, shouldering through the crowd with renewed vigor.
"Thank you," Bill breathes behind her and she turns and threads her arm through his.
"Bring in the cat," she muses. "You're going to have to tell me the story behind that one sometime soon." She doesn't add the before it's too late but it's implied and she feels Bill's gaze on her but ignores it. Instead, she turns towards the hatch and nods at the marines standing guard on either side. Something's hovering at the edge of her consciousness, something important, but the more she tries to catch hold of it, the more elusive it becomes. She shoves it to the back of her mind, knowing it will come to her when it must, and takes a deep breath as she prepares to face the press.
As soon as they step through the hatch into the Ready Room, they are inundated with questions. Obviously the news of Earth has spread like wildfire. Laura holds up her hands to ward off their questions as she steps up to the podium, Bill and Lee stationing themselves on either side of her, standing back slightly, on full alert. The sight of her cast actually has the power to quiet the room full of reporters, even if only for a moment, but a moment is all she needs. She speaks into the microphone, addresses them all with all the surety her vision on Earth gave her, al the courage Bill's love, Lee's support, Kara's desperation, have given her.
"I'm sure by now you've all heard the rumors," she says. "Rumors of Earth, that what we found down there is nothing short of what we left behind when we fled the Colonies. If that's what you heard, I can only tell you that it's true." She raises her hands as chaos erupts and each and every one of the reporters gathered before her starts volleying questions at her. Again, the sight of her cast stills them for some reason. "But I want to stress that Earth is huge and we only saw a tiny portion of it. Now if you'll permit me, I will outline the measures we've set in place to face this situation head on. But before I do, I will promise you this." She pauses and clears her throat, let's her voice carry, clear and strong, all the way to the back of the room, even as she suddenly feels the stresses of the last few days, gather force around her. "I will promise you that this is not going to defeat us," she says, "We've faced death and the destruction of all hope before and prevailed and this will not be what breaks us. We will get through this, but we all must band together, we must have faith."
At that everyone sits down again and in the stunned silence, she details the scouting operation, the no flight measure and other new safety protocols the Quorum just approved. She doesn't tell them about what they already found, the shelter, the computers. And books, she thinks, books! Best to keep that information under wraps until they've had a crack at those computers, who knows what information they contain.
"Are you instituting martial law?" one of the reporters at the back of the room asks. She doesn't recognize him, but then, the room is crowded and it seems that every reporter in the fleet rushed over to get the scoop on Earth and there are quite a few unknown faces amongst them.
"Certainly not," she says.
"Then why such extreme measures?"
"Because we cannot have everyone going down there just like that, we need to keep the fleet together."
"And how far are we prepared to go in order to ensure that?" another reporter asks. This one she knows, Jim something or other from the Gazette.
"Well, Jim," she replies. "In this matter, the Admiral has full authority to prevent any unauthorized departures."
"What does that mean?"
"It means he's charged with keeping the fleet together, by whatever means necessary." The room erupts into chaos again at the import of her words and again she holds up her hands, silences them. "But I'm sure it won't come to that," she says, "and I'm counting on you, ladies and gentlemen of the press, to help us maintain order in these difficult times. Now if there are no further questions?"
"Just one, Madam President." Another unknown reporter, sitting in the back row, addresses her. A beard and glasses are al she can make out of his features.
"Yes, Mr..?"
"Antanov, Ma'am," he says as he stands. "My question is this. If we're at Earth, why are you still alive?"
That is the question, Laura thinks as she instinctively reaches out and tugs at Bill's sleeve, keeping him back when he steps forward with a barely contained growl. She turns her attention back to Antanov and his colleagues, spreads her hands and shrugs once. Her gaze sweeps the room, includes them all before alighting on him. "As you can see, Mr. Antanov," she says, "reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. However..."
It's as far as she gets. Suddenly all hell breaks loose. There's a commotion in the hallway. Shouts of False Prophet and Traitors and Death to the Cylons can be heard. As one, her security detail moves towards the hatch to join their colleagues standing guard outside, intent on helping them keep any threats out. She glances at Bill as he starts towards the hatch himself and then someone gasps nearby. As she turns towards the sound, she spots Antanov; he's suddenly halfway down the tier of seats, pointing a gun at her head.
She hears someone scream Gun! and the reporters scatter, duck for cover. Someone grabs at Antanov's gun hand, Karen Fallbrook, she notes, one of the more level headed reporters. Antanov shoves Karen aside, points his gun at Laura's face again and squeezes the trigger.
Laura hears Bill shout her name from across the room, the syllables stretched like taffy across the space between them.
Time slows down to a crawl. She can feel the blood rushing through her veins, the rush of oxygen moving in and out of her lungs, the itch on her scalp underneath the wig, just over the occipital bone, the precise density of the deck plating underneath her feet, can see the horror on Karen's face, the sweat on Antanov's brow.
She imagines she can actually see the bullet as it leaves the gun, cleaves a path through the air, directly towards her face.
She throws up her hands, sees Lee hurl himself at her in a flying tackle.
Then everything speeds up again as she's thrown back by the impact and pain pulses through her. The last thing she hears is Bill's voice, calling for her, before blackness descends and the world falls away.